Speculative recording device

ABSTRACT

In a speculative recording device, a profile extracting unit extracts a user profile which indicates a preference of a user in viewing programs based on an operation by the user, and a program list managing unit acquires attributes of a program. Moreover, a speculation selecting unit selects a program to be speculatively recorded based on a user profile and the attributes of the program, a storage managing unit accumulates program data, and a speculative recording managing unit erases the program data accumulated in the storage managing unit when necessary and records program data selected by the speculation selecting unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a recording device, typified by a PVR(Personal Video Recorder) or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) Video Recorder.The recording device is used in a receiving device having a function ofonce accumulating a program which is broadcast or delivered in real timevia an electrical transmitting means such as digital broadcasting andthe Internet, making it possible to view it asynchronously to broadcastor delivery. More specifically, the invention relates to recordingdevices which are used in receiving devices which are connected with oneanother at all times via a network.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 16 illustrates a structure of a receiving device including aconventional recording device. The receiving device 1200 includes areceiving unit 101, a program decoder 102, a UI controlling unit 103, adisplay unit 104, an input unit 105, a program list managing unit 106, astorage managing unit 107, a chasing unit 108, and a preprogrammedrecording unit 109.

The receiving unit 101 is connected to a transmission path using anelectric wave, an electric wire, an optical fiber, or the like as amedium and extracts information of a program in real time which istransmitted thereto via the transmission path. The information of theprogram includes the substance of the program expressed by an image, asound, and character information, an electronic program list which ismetadata of the program, and the like. In order to take out informationof a particular program from a transmission path through which aplurality of programs are broadcast at the same time, the receiving unit101 extracts digital data of desired program information by designatingan ID or the like which identifies a broadcasting frequency of theprogram to be taken out or a transmission unit of packets and the likewhich constitute the program.

The receiving unit 101 is composed of, in the case of a digitalbroadcasting tuner, for example, a BS/CS tuner module and a transportdecoder. The program decoder 102 receives an image, a sound, characterinformation, and the like which are contained in the output from thereceiving unit 101 or the storage managing unit 107 and decodes them.The program decoder 102 is composed of an MPEG2 (Motion Picture ExpertGroup) decoder, a BML (Broadcasting Markup Language) browser and thelike as being used in a digital broadcast tuner.

Note that MPEG2 is defined by ISO/IEC 13818-1, 13818-2, 13818-3, and thelike, which are international standards, and is regularly used forencoding digital images and audio data. BML is a language, based on XML(eXtensible Markup Language), for multimedia encoding in digitalbroadcast and is used for digital broadcast in Japan. BML is defined byARIB STD-B24, a written standard by Association of Radio Industries andBusinesses, a Japanese standardization organization.

A user interface (User Interface; hereinafter referred to as “UI” forshort) controlling unit 103 realizes interactive processing with a userby managing the state transition of a display screen. The UI controllingunit 103 outputs a signal to be displayed on the display screen whilecombining an OSD (On Screen Display) display with an image outputted bythe program decoder 102. The UI controlling unit 103 further changes thestate of the display screen in accordance with an instruction of theuser inputted from the input unit 105 and generates a transition controlsignal Sc which makes the state of the receiving device 1200 transit. Inother words, the UI controlling unit 103 is connected with the chasingunit 108 and the preprogrammed recording unit 109, and realizes statetransition by controlling these units so as to control each other. Notethat the UI controlling unit 103 can be composed of a graphic enginewhich generates a signal of OSD and a computer for control thereof.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of an accumulated program list screenwhich is presented by the UI controlling unit 103 onto the display unit104. The accumulated program list screen includes an accumulated programsection IPR made up of a plurality of rows (in the present example, fiverows, that is, row L221, row L222, row L223, row L224, and row L225) forshowing information concerning programs managed by the storage managingunit 107. In each row of the accumulated program section IPR, detailedinformation about the program which is assigned to the row is shown in aplurality of columns (in the present example, four columns, that is,column C231, column C232, column C233, and column C234). Specifically,the recording date and time of each program is shown in column C231, thebroadcast channel thereof is shown in column C232, and the program namethereof is shown in column C233. And whether the data of a program whichhas been recorded, that is, accumulated is to be automatically erased ornot is indicated in column C234.

Note that at the top of the accumulated program section IPR, a programinformation label LIP for indicating the kind of detailed information tobe displayed in each column is placed. At the side of the accumulatedprogram section IPR, in order to display more than five pieces ofprogram information, a scroll bar 240 for replacing displayed rows isarranged. As is exemplified in the present figure, in the scroll bar240, a pointer Pp for indicating the physical relationship of the piecesof program information which are currently being displayed on theaccumulated program section IPR with the whole program information whichis under the management of the storage managing unit 107 is displayed.As a result, the user can easily recognize that accumulated programsexist above and below the programs which are being displayed, along withthose which are currently being displayed on the accumulated programsection IPR.

In column C234 where it is shown whether automatic erasure might beconducted or not, an unlocked key is shown when the recorded program isin a temporarily-stored state while a locked key is shown when theprogram is in a permanently-stored state. In the example illustrated inFIG. 17, it is shown that the program “Trip to Nature in the World No.1,” which is displayed in the row L224, is set to be in apermanently-stored state while the programs displayed in the other rows,that is, row L221, row L222, row L223, and row L225, are intemporarily-stored states.

In the accumulated program section IPR, a program for which so-called“chase viewing,” which means recording a program which is beingbroadcast and meanwhile playing back an arbitrary portion alreadyrecorded at the same time, is being performed is not displayed. This isbecause, in the case of the process of chase viewing, not only a programwhich has already been recorded exists in the storage managing unit 107only when the receiving device is in a condition where chase viewing isbeing performed therein but also it is stored in the storage managingunit 107 so as to be separated from those which have been recorded in anordinary manner. “Chasing state,” which will be described later, isadministered as the value of the storage status. Accordingly, no programin a chasing state exists when the receiving device is in a conditionwhere the accumulated program section IPR as illustrated in FIG. 17 isdisplayed thereon.

The display unit 104 is an output device for presenting information to auser. The display unit 104 converts output from the UI controlling unit103 to a physical phenomenon which is perceivable by the user andpresents it to the user. The display unit 104 is, for example, composedof a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display and a loudspeaker.

The input unit 105 is a device for inputting a physical operation by theuser. The input unit 105 is composed of a pointing device such as aremote controller, a keyboard, and a mouse and/or a human interfacedevice typified by a speech recognition device. Based on an instructionby the user, the input unit 105 generates an operation input signal Soand outputs it to the UI controlling unit 103.

The program list managing unit 106 receives information of a programlist outputted from the receiving unit 101 and creates a database of theprogram list. The program list managing unit 106 may be any as long asit is provided with a decoding program for an electronic program list(EPG; Electric Program Guide) in a digital broadcast tuner and itsexecution environment.

The storage managing unit 107 stores one or more pieces of program datacomposed of video data, audio data, and the like and outputs them inaccordance with a request from the outside. Note that storing programdata means recording a program, in other words.

In the storage managing unit 107, in addition to program data Dp,program storage information RDp for managing a plurality of pieces ofprogram data which have been stored is stored as well. The programstorage information RDp includes a list of programs whose program dataDp is stored in the storage managing unit 107 and information whichshows the date and time when the programs were recorded, the broadcastchannels on which the programs are delivered, the titles of theprograms, and the storage states of the programs. Information showingthe storage state of program data Dp has, for each of the programs whichhave been stored, one of the values which indicate three states. Thethree states are, specifically, a temporarily-stored state, apermanently-stored state, and a chasing state.

The temporarily-stored state indicates that program data Dp which hasbeen recorded is permitted to be automatically erased when the capacityof the storage managing unit 107 is insufficient. The permanently-storedstate, which is a regular state, indicates that program data Dp ispermanently stored unless an explicit erasing operation is conducted bythe user. The chasing state indicates that it is program data that istemporarily created during chase viewing, which will be describedfurther below.

The chasing unit 108 realizes the “chase viewing” function in thereceiving device 1200. Here, chase viewing is described. An object ofthis function is, in a situation where the user is viewing in real timea program which is currently being delivered or broadcast, to provide asituation typified by viewing, in non-real time for broadcast, a sceneof the program which has been missed for a reason like leaving the seatfor going to the bathroom or the like.

In order to do chase viewing, the user at first starts the recording ofa program which is being viewed by pressing a “pause” button of theinput unit 105 realized by a remote controller or the like when he orshe leaves the seat. When the user returns to the seat after awhile, ifhe or she presses a “chasing playback” button of the input unit 105, therecorded program is played back from the time point at which the “pause”button was pressed earlier. At this time, the playback of the programrecorded during the time when he or she was away from the seat and therecording of scenes which cannot be presented to the display unit 104 tobe viewed because of the playback of scenes being performed at themoment are performed at the same time.

A chase viewing operation in the receiving device 1200 is described.Chase viewing is realized by the chasing unit 108 controlling thestorage managing unit 107, the program decoder 102, and the UIcontrolling unit 103. The preprogrammed recording unit 109 manages thepreprogramming of the recording of a program and causes the recording tobe carried out as preprogrammed. Based on program list information IPinputted from the program list managing unit 106 and an operation signalSo inputted from the input unit 105, the preprogrammed recording unit109 generates program identification information IPTR for identifying aprogram to be recorded.

The program identification information IPTR includes informationindicating the starting date and time (hereinafter referred to as “aprogram-to-be-recorded starting time TSS”), ending date and time(hereinafter referred to as “a program-to-be-recorded ending time TTS”),and a broadcast channel (hereinafter referred to as “aprogram-to-be-recorded broadcast channel CB) of a program to berecorded, for example.

The preprogrammed recording unit 109 compares a present date and time(hereinafter referred to as “a present time TC”) with theprogram-to-be-recorded starting time TSS which is indicated by the heldprogram identification information IPTR, and, if both coincide with eachother, in connection with the receiving unit 101, requests the receivingunit 101 to receive broadcast data which is delivered through (broadcaston) the broadcast channel indicated by the program-to-be-recordedbroadcast channel CB and causes the storage managing unit 107 to recordand store program data Dp outputted by the receiving unit 101.Concerning this chase viewing operation, a description in detail is madelater with reference to FIG. 19.

Next, with reference to FIG. 18, automatic erasure recording in aconventional receiving device is described. Automatic erasure recordingrefers to a function of automatically securing, in the storage managingunit 107, a vacant area necessary for storing data of a program to berecorded when carrying out a recording. Specifically, if the storagemanaging unit 107 does not have a sufficient vacant area necessary for arecording which is about to be carried out, one or more pieces of theprogram data Dp already recorded in the storage managing unit 107 areerased automatically.

Hence, automatic erasure recording is a function which becomes effectivewhen, in a situation where one or more pieces of program data Dp havealready been stored in the storage managing unit 107, an instruction torecord at least one program is further given. In such a situation, whenan instruction to record a program is given, the automatic erasurerecording function begins to be activated.

Then, at step S501, the preprogrammed recording unit 109 compares thepresent time TC with the program-to-be-recorded starting time TSS basedon the program identification information IPTR, and determines whetherthe preprogrammed recording starting time is reached or not. Until thepresent time TC reaches the program-to-be-recorded starting time TSS,the preprogrammed recording unit 109 repeats the processing of thepresent step, and at the time when the present time TC comes to beidentical to the program-to-be-recorded starting time TSS, the processproceeds to the next step S1301.

At step S1301, the storage managing unit 107 erases, among the storedprogram data Dp, a part or whole of the data which is in atemporarily-stored state and thereby secures a vacant area sufficientfor storing the program data Dp which the preprogrammed recording unit109 has given an instruction to record. However, in the case where avacant area sufficient for storing the program data of which aninstruction of recording has been given has been secured in the storagemanaging unit 107, the erasure of program data Dp is not carried out.The selection criterion for determining which is to be preferentiallyerased of the program data Dp in a temporarily-stored state isarbitrarily determined considering the user's preference: for example,to select in the order of the date and time of recording or topreferentially select one which has already been played back. After theprocessing of the present step, the process proceeds to the next stepS510.

At step S510, the storage managing unit 107 creates a new recordingfile. A new recording file refers to a data area in which to store aprogram which the preprogrammed recording unit 109 is to record. Then,the process proceeds to the next step S505.

At step S505, the recording of a program which has been preprogrammed iscaused to begin. Specifically, data of a program to be stored isoutputted from the receiving unit 101 to the storage managing unit 107by the preprogrammed recording unit 109 instructing the receiving unit101 of a broadcast channel (recording program broadcast channel CB) onwhich reception should be made, and next a preprogrammed recording iscaused to begin by instructing the storage managing unit 107 to storethe output from the receiving unit 101.

Next, with reference to FIG. 19, chase viewing process is described.Chase viewing is a function which is realized by conducting a recordingand a playback at the same time. Therefore, by the user pressing a pausebutton of the input unit 105 in a situation where the recording of aprogram for which chase viewing is to be performed has already beencaused to begin, the operation of chase viewing is caused to begin.

Therefore, at step S701, it is determined whether a pause instruction bythe user has been inputted. Note that a pause instruction by the useris, after being outputted from the input unit 105 as a user input signalSo, notified to the chasing unit 108 via the UI controlling unit 103.The chasing unit 108 repeats the processing of the present step untilthe user presses the pause button of the input unit 105. When the userpresses the pause button, a pause instruction is detected, and theprocess then proceeds to the next step S702.

At step S702, the chasing unit 108 causes the storage managing unit 107to create a new recording file. This new recording file is furnished forthe chasing process which will be described later. Then, the processproceeds to the next step S703.

At step S703, the recording of program data Dp of a program which iscurrently being viewed is caused to begin by the chasing unit 108 withthe recording file which has been created at step S702. In starting achasing playback, it is possible to conduct a playback, while utilizingthis recording file, from the point at which the recording is caused tobegin at the present step. Thus, the chasing unit 108 operates withoutrecognizing a program. Consequently, if a pause instruction has beenmaintained for a long time, for example, a chasing process may beperformed for two different consecutive programs. Then, the processproceeds to the next step S704.

At step S704, it is determined whether a chasing playback instructionhas been inputted by the user. In other words, until the user pressesthe chasing playback button of the input unit 105, the process stays atthe present step S704, and when the chasing playback button is pressed,the process proceeds to the next step S705.

At step S705, the new recording file to which the recording was causedto begin at step S703 starts to be played back from the beginning. Inother words, the playback is started, going back in time from the timepoint when the user presses the chasing playback button at step S704 tothe time point when the recording was caused to begin at step S703 inresponse to an operation of the pause button by the user at step S701.Note that, at this time point, the concurrent operation of the recordingto and the playback of one recording file, started at step S703 and stepS705 respectively, is caused to begin. Then, the process proceeds to thenext step S706.

At step S706, it is determined whether a chase finishing instruction bythe user has been inputted. In other words, if the user has pressed thechase finishing button of the input unit 105, the process proceeds tostep S707, and if he or she has not pressed the chase finishing button,the process proceeds to step S708. Note that the chase finishing buttonhas a function of sending a command signal which gives an instructionfor finishing a chasing process in execution.

At step S707, the chasing playback process in the chase viewing which isin execution at the moment is forcibly terminated by the chasing unit108. Then, the process proceeds to the next step S1401.

At step S1401, the recording process in the chase viewing which is inexecution at the moment is forcibly terminated by the chasing unit 108.Then, the process proceeds to the next step S1402.

At step S1402, the recording file which was created at step S702 and toor from which program data was recorded and read thereafter is erased.Then, the process is finished.

At step S708, it is determined whether the chasing playback started atstep S705 has already been completed. If it is determined that it hasnot been completed, the process returns to step S706 described above.Meanwhile, if it is determined that it has been completed, the processproceeds to step S1402 described above and the recording file of whichthe chasing playback has been completed is erased. Thus, in aconventional device, only scenes between the point at which the playbackis being performed and the point at which the recording is beingperformed is stored in a recording file. A recording file may be managedin a data structure, a so-called ring buffer, for example.

Using a ring buffer easily makes it possible to achieve restricting thesize of a recording file not to grow above a predetermined size.Consequently, the capacity of an HDD used in the storage managing unit107 is by no means burdened aimlessly. When the playing-back position ofthe file catches up with the recording position of the file, the size ofthe recording file becomes zero. As a result, the processescorresponding to the playback finishing process at step S707 and therecording finishing process at step S1401 are automatically carried out,and therefore step S707 and step S1401 become unnecessary.

As cases where a playback position catches up with a recording file,that is, where the tail end of the recording file comes to be playedback, such cases are conceivable as a case where rapid playback has beenperformed, a case where the recording which is currently being performedis interrupted because resources in the receiving unit which receivesthe program of which the recording is being performed are deprived of byanother preprogrammed recording, and the like.

In the flowchart described above, an instruction to start recording isgiven by the pause button, but there is also a device equipped with amode in which, whenever the power is turned on, portions up to apredetermined period behind are always recorded without necessity ofpressing the pause button. Moreover, there is also a device which isstructured so that when the chasing playback button is pressed the pointof playback goes back a predetermined period of time instead of goingback to the beginning of the file and if the chasing playback button ispressed repeatedly the point of playback goes back predetermined periodsof time one after another.

However, the above-described receiving device has the following problemsconcerning operationality and functionality. First, in connection withoperationality, there is a problem in an operation of preprogramming arecording of a program. Specifically, when an operation ofpreprogramming a recording of a program is conducted, even if anelectronic program list is used, it is required to explicitly perform apreprogramming of the recording of the program, which is cumbersome. Inaddition, it is necessary to consider in advance which program is worthyof preprogrammed recording before the program is broadcast.Consequently, even if that one program is worth viewing is made known byanother person after it is broadcast, it is no more possible to view itbecause it cannot be recorded any longer at the time. In connection withfunctionality, in terms of a chase recording for a program of which arecording is not preprogrammed, it is impossible to go back farther thanto the time point at which the pause button was pressed after viewingwas begun. In other words, if it is desired to record the whole of theprogram at the time point when a part of the program has been viewed,this is impossible without a record starting operation being performedat the starting time of the program.

Further, in the case where it is impossible to secure a sufficientvacant area in the storage managing unit 107 by erasing a part or thewhole of the program data Dp which is in a temporarily-stored state bymeans of the above-described automatic erasure recording function, it isimpossible to record a desired program. Meanwhile, even in the casewhere a sufficient vacant area is secured to record a new program, theuser will suffer a disadvantage if an erased program which has been in atemporarily-stored state is preferable to the program which has beenrecorded newly. Not to mention, it is more disadvantageous if the erasedprogram data has never been played back to be viewed. In view of this,it is desirable to be able to record a new program while erasing aslittle program data stored in the storage managing unit 107 as possible.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide aspeculative recording function device which performs a speculativerecording which automatically selects a program to be recorded in viewof the history of viewing or recording and the like, even when anexplicit recording instruction is not given by the user. Further,another object is to provide a speculative recording function devicewhich speculatively secures an area for a new recording of a programwhile erasing as little program data which has already been recorded aspossible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has the following features to attain the objectsdescribed above.

According to a first aspect, included are:

a profile extracting unit for extracting a user profile which indicatesa preference of a user's in viewing programs based on an operation bythe user;

a program list managing unit for acquiring attributes of a program;

a speculation selecting unit for selecting a program to be speculativelyrecorded based on the user profile and the attributes of the program;

a storage managing unit for accumulating program data; and

a speculative recording managing unit for erasing the program dataaccumulated in the storage managing unit when necessary and forrecording program data selected by the speculation selecting unit.

According to a second aspect based on the first aspect, the program dataaccumulated in the storage managing unit is in either one of atemporarily-stored state and a permanently-stored state; the speculativerecording managing unit erases, among the program data accumulated inthe storage managing unit, a piece of program data in thetemporarily-stored state when necessary, and records program dataselected by the speculation selecting unit in the temporarily-storedstate; and a user interface controlling unit for converting the state ofprogram data accumulated in the storage managing unit between thetemporarily-stored state and the permanently-stored state in accordancewith a request from the user is included.

According to a third aspect based on the second aspect, a chasing unitfor, after beginning a process of accumulating a currently-broadcastprogram into a file in the temporarily-stored state from a recordstarting timing to an end of the program, beginning to play back thefile at a playback starting timing is further included.

According to a fourth aspect based on the first or second aspect, theuser interface controlling unit inputs a record starting timing and aplayback starting timing from the user, and a chasing unit for, afterbeginning a process of accumulating a currently-broadcast program into afile in a temporarily-stored state from the record starting timing to anend of the program, beginning to play back the file at the playbackstarting timing is included.

According to a fifth aspect based on the second aspect, a communicationunit for communicating with a network connected with one or moreremotely-located program recording devices is further included and

when the user interface controlling unit performs an operation ofconverting a state of a piece of program data selected by the user fromamong programs accumulated by the remotely-located program recordingdevices and the program data accumulated in the storage managing unitinto the permanently-stored state in accordance with a request from theuser while utilizing the communication unit, if the piece of programdata selected by the user is a piece of program data accumulated in oneof the remotely-located recording devices, the selected piece of programdata is taken into the storage managing unit via the communication unitto be converted into the permanently-stored state.

According to a sixth aspect based on the fifth aspect, when there is aprogram data file which is program data accumulated in one of theremotely-located program recording devices and which is a program datafile of a program identical to a currently-broadcast program to beaccumulated by the chasing unit, the chasing unit starts, by utilizingthe communication unit, playing back the program data file of theidentical program at the playback starting timing.

According to a seventh aspect based on the sixth aspect, the chasingunit starts playing back the program data file of the identical programat the playback starting timing and, at a time point of the recordstarting timing or later, changes the played-back file to a fileconducted for the storage managing unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a typical example of a receivingdevice incorporating a speculative recording device according to a firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a user profile creating operation by thereceiving device illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a speculative recording preprogrammingoperation by the receiving device illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a speculative recording operation by thereceiving device illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of permanently storingspeculatively-recorded data by a receiving device incorporating aspeculative recording device according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a chase recording operation in whichpermanent storing is enabled by a receiving device incorporating aspeculative recording device according to the third embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a chasing operation utilizingspeculatively-recorded data by a receiving device incorporating aspeculative recording device according to a fourth embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a typical example of thestructure of a receiving device incorporating a speculative recordingdevice according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation of permanently storing remoterecording data by the receiving device illustrated in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a chasing operation utilizing remoterecording data by a receiving device incorporating the speculativerecording device according to a sixth embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a chasing operation utilizing remoterecording data by a receiving device incorporating a speculativerecording device according to the sixth embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a typical example of thestructure of a receiving device incorporating a speculative recordingdevice according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of preprogrammed recording requestinformation created in the speculative recording device illustrated inFIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an operation of vicarious preprogrammedrecording request process in the speculative recording deviceillustrated in FIG. 12.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining an operation of vicariouspreprogrammed recording request process by the preprogramming listmanaging unit of the speculative recording device illustrated in FIG.12.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a receivingdevice incorporating a conventional recording device.

FIG. 17 is a pattern diagram illustrating an example of an accumulatedcontents check screen displayed on the display unit of the receivingdevice illustrated in FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an operation of automatically erasingrecording data by the receiving device illustrated in FIG. 16.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a chase viewing operation by thereceiving device illustrated in FIG. 16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

First, the basic concept of a speculative recording device according tothe present invention is described. In the present invention, a functionis provided which infers a user's preference based on the history ofviewing or recording by the user and automatically selects a program tobe recorded in accordance with the inference even when an explicitrecording instruction is not given by the user. For that purpose,speculative recording, which is a function of a recording device whichautomatically records a program which the user is likely to desire torecord or a receiving device itself incorporating such a recordingdevice selecting and recording a program, is realized. The selection bythe recording device, which does not always accord with the desire ofthe user's, has an aspect of “speculation” because a recording which isperformed as a result thereof may prove to be a worthless recording. Inthis sense, the function of recording a specific program based on theuser's preference which is inferred by the present invention is called“speculative recording.” Incidentally, “speculation” has beenestablished based on a concept called “speculative execution” such as“branch prediction,” which stochastically increases the entireprocessing speed in a high-performance microprocessor by predicting abranch and performing a reading or execution of an instruction at afollowing branch target in parallel with or prior to a branchinstruction.

First Embodiment

With reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5, areceiving device incorporating a speculative recording device accordingto a first embodiment of the present invention is described.

As is shown in FIG. 1, a receiving device 1200 a according to thepresent embodiment has such a structure such as a profile extractingunit 110, a speculation selecting unit 111, and a speculative recordingmanaging unit 112 are added to the aforementioned conventional receivingdevice 1200. The profile extracting unit 110 is connected with the UIcontrolling unit 103 and monitors, as appropriate, the state of atransition control signal Sc outputted from the UI controlling unit 103and the state of the user's operation of the input unit 105 (an input bythe user). Then, based on the monitored state of operation, it extractsinformation characterizing the user's preference, and creates a userprofile Pu. Note that the profile extracting unit 110 updates, asappropriate, the once-created user profile Pu in accordance with amonitored state.

The user profile Pu is a set of data directly or indirectly indicativeof the user's preference. It is a set of information indicating eachuser's preference obtained by performing a statistical processconcerning, for example, a particular program broadcast in real timebeing viewed repeatedly, which of the programs recorded in atemporarily-stored state has been stored permanently, or which of theprograms recorded in a temporarily-stored state has been viewed orautomatically erased without being viewed. Various types of models ordata structures can be adopted for such a user profile.

The speculation selecting unit 111 selects, based on a user profile Puoutputted from the profile extracting unit 110, a program which it isdetermined the user will desire to view and which is potentially to bespeculatively recorded from the programs shown in program listinformation IP outputted from the program list managing unit 106, andcreates a potentially-to-be-speculatively-recorded program list LS.

Based on the potentially-to-be-speculatively-recorded program list LSoutputted from the speculation selecting unit 111, the speculativerecording managing unit 112 instructs the storage managing unit 107 toperform recordings in the order of the broadcast starting time of theprograms to be speculatively recorded which are included in thepotentially-to-be-speculatively-recorded program list LS.

In connection with the aforementioned receiving device 1200 a, aspeculative recording operation is described in detail, with referenceto FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4, while focusing on the creation of a userprofile Pu and a speculative recording preprogramming (the creation of apotentially-to-be-speculatively-recorded program list LS), which are itscharacteristic features.

First, with reference to FIG. 2, the creation and update of a userprofile in the receiving device 1200 a is described. As described above,a user profile Pu is a set of information which characterizes a user'spreference toward programs which has been extracted based on the user'soperation of the input unit 105. Consequently, at the time when the useroperates the input unit 105 the creation of a user profile begins.

That is, at step S301, it is determined whether the user has operatedthe input unit 105 based on an operation signal So. Until an operationby the user is detected the determination process at the present step isrepeated, and at the time when an operation by the user is detected theprocess proceeds to the next step S302.

At step S302, the UI controlling unit 103 detects the subject of theuser's operation based on an operation signal So and generates atransition control signal Sc. Then, the process proceeds to the nextstep S303.

At step S303, the profile extracting unit 110 extracts an operationwhich characterizes the user's preference based on the transitioncontrol signal Sc. Specific selections have been described above. Then,the process proceeds to the next step S304.

At step S304, the profile extracting unit 110 creates or updates a userprofile Pu based on the operation characterizing the user's preferencewhich was extracted at step S303.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, a speculative recording preprogrammingroutine which is executed mainly by the profile extracting unit 110, thespeculation selecting unit 111, the speculative recording managing unit112, and the preprogrammed recording unit 109 is described. Aspeculative recording preprogramming, as long as the receiving device1200 a is active, is activated any time and then the following processesare executed.

At the beginning, at step S401 one program included in program listinformation IP held by the program list managing means 106 is selectedby the speculation selecting unit 111. At the same time the attributesof the selected program are acquired. The attributes of a program(hereinafter referred to as “program attributes”), which are transmittedwith an electronic program list, refer to the title, cast, and genre ofthe program and the series of the program. Note that the programattributes may be obtained from an information source other than anelectronic program list and, for example, may be obtained via acommunication line. Then, the process proceeds to the next step S402.

At step S402, the speculation selecting unit 111 compares the programattributes of a program selected at step S401 with a user profile Puheld by the profile extracting unit 110. Then, based on the degree ofconformity between the program attributes and the user profile Pu whichwere compared with each other, an extent to which the selected programshould be speculatively recorded is estimated and then a speculationscore Ps is created. It is assumed that a speculation score Ps increasesas the degree of conformity increases. In addition, the speculationselecting unit 111 temporarily stores the speculative score Ps for eachprogram obtained at the present step. Then, the process proceeds to thenext step S403.

At step S403, it is determined whether all the programs included in theprogram list information IP have been selected (step S401). If theresult is No, processes at steps S401 and S402 described above arerepeated and the speculation score Ps for each program included in theprogram list information IP is estimated one after another. At the timewhen the speculation scores Ps for all the programs included in theprogram list information IP have been estimated, the determination ofYes is made at the present step and the process proceeds to the nextstep S404. In this manner, the speculation selecting unit 111temporarily stores the speculation scores Ps for the respective programsas speculation scores PsA.

At step S404, a time zone in which programs exist on the electronicprogram list is selected by the speculation selecting unit 111. Theselection range of a time zone may accord with a unit period accordingto the drawing-up of a program. If it is assumed that the minimum unitof the drawing-up of a program is separated at-on the hour and on thehalf hour, for example, a time zone may be selected in units of 30minutes. Then, the process proceeds to the next step S405.

At step S405, with regard to time zone selected at step S404, theprogram whose speculation score Ps is the highest of those of theprograms included in the time zone is selected by the speculationselecting unit 111. Then, the process proceeds to the next step S406.

At step S406, a potentially-to-be-speculatively-recorded program list LSis outputted from the speculation selecting unit 111 to the speculativerecording managing unit 112. (Specifically, apotentially-to-be-speculatively-recorded program list LS includes thestarting date and time, ending date and time, broadcast channel,speculation score Ps of a program selected at step S405.) Then, thespeculative recording managing unit 112 generates, based on thepotentially-to-be-speculatively-recorded program list LS inputted fromthe speculation selecting unit 111, speculative recording instructinginformation IRs and outputs it to the preprogrammed recording unit 109.The speculative recording instructing information IRs includes, of astarting date and time, an ending date and time, a broadcast channel,and a speculation score Ps included in thepotentially-to-be-speculatively-recorded program list LS, the startingdate and time, the ending date and time, and the broadcast channel. Aspeculative recording preprogramming based on the speculative recordinginstructing information IRs is set by the preprogrammed recording unit109. Then, the process proceeds to the next step S407.

At step S407, it is determined whether all time zones have beenselected. If the result is No, processes at steps S404, S405, and S406described above are repeated, during which the speculative recordingpreprogramming of a program which has the highest speculation scorePSmax(tz) in a time zone different from that of the immediately previoustime is performed. Then, at the time when the speculative recordingpreprogrammings have been performed for all time zones (tz), thedetermination of Yes is made at the present step and the speculativerecording preprogramming routine is finished.

Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the speculative recording performingroutine carried out mainly by the storage managing unit 107 and thespeculative recording managing unit 112 is described. The presentspeculative recording performing routine is premised on a speculativerecording having been preprogrammed by the above-described speculativerecording preprogramming routine. Consequently, first, at step S501, itis determined whether the present time Tc corresponds to any one of therecord starting times Tr of all the programs of which the preprogrammedrecordings have been set at step S406 described above. After repeatingthe process of the present step until the determination of Yes is made,the process proceeds to the next step S502.

At step S502, it is determined whether a program of which the recordingis set to be performed at the present time Tc, which it has beendetected at step S501 corresponds to the record starting time Trthereof, is a program for which a speculative recording preprogrammingwas performed at step S406 described above. If an ordinary recordpreprogramming has been made for the record starting time Tr, theprocess proceeds to step S503. Note that “an ordinary recordpreprogramming” refers to a preprogramming operation which is carriedout by the user inputting the broadcast date and time and channel of aprogram which were selected and learned from a program list, or thelike. This means that the program has been selected by an operationwhich is based on an explicit request of the user himself or herself,that he or she wants to record that particular program.

In the case of Yes, that is, in the case where a speculative recordinghas been preprogrammed for the record starting time Tr, the processproceeds to step S506. Note that the determination as to whether it is aspeculative recording or not is preferably made by the speculativerecording managing unit 112. Specifically, the preprogrammed recordingunit 109 can easily determine whether it is a speculative recording ornot by a bit indicating it is a speculative recording being added to thespeculative recording instructing information IRs, which the speculativerecording managing unit 112 outputs to the preprogrammed recording unit109, at step S406 described above.

At step S503, it is determined by the speculative recording managingunit 112 whether an ordinary preprogrammed recording whose recordstarting time Tr has been reached can be carried out in the presentcondition of the resources of the receiving device. In the case where,in the present condition of the resources, the execution of thepreprogrammed recording is impossible, if any speculative recording isbeing performed at the moment, it is determined that the executionthereof is stopped. That is, at the present step, it is determined basedon the condition of the resources of the receiving device 1200 a whetherthe discontinuance of a speculative recording which is being performedis required or not to perform an ordinary preprogrammed recording. If itis determined that the discontinuance of the speculative recording whichis being performed is required, the process proceeds to the next stepS504. Note that the resources of the receiving device refers to avirtual component thereof, as which the capacity and faculty of thewhole of the receiving means are regarded. For example, if the receivingmeans is capable of receiving only one program at the same time, aspeculative recording and an ordinary preprogrammed recording cannot beperformed at the same time. Besides, a situation where a plurality ofrecordings cannot be performed at the same time because of the lack ofthe faculty of the storage managing means constituted by a HDD or thelike to input or output data in a unit time corresponds to a limitationof the resources.

At step S504, the speculative recording which is being performed isdiscontinued by the speculative recording managing unit 112. This is inorder to recover the condition of the resources by forcibly terminatingthe speculative recording which is being performed, because it wasdetermined at step S503 that the ordinary preprogrammed recording willnot be successful unless the speculative recording which is beingperformed at the moment is discontinued. Then, the process proceeds tothe next step S505.

Meanwhile, in the case of No at step S503 described above, that is, inthe case where the preprogrammed recording can be performed in thepresent condition of the resources, the process skips step S503described above and proceeds to step S505.

If it is determined as a speculative recording at step S502 describedabove, it is determined by the speculative recording managing unit 112at step S506 whether the speculative recording whose record startingtime Tr is reached can be performed in the present condition of theresources of the receiving device 1200 a as at step S502. For example,in the case where the receiving unit 101 is capable of receiving onlyone program at one time, if the receiving unit 101 is in a conditionwhere it cannot be utilized for the speculative recording due to theviewing of a real-time broadcast, an ordinary preprogrammed recording,or the like, the speculative recording cannot be performed because ofthe limitation of the resources. If it can be performed, thedetermination of Yes is made and the process proceeds to the next stepS507.

At step S507, a list in which pieces of program data accumulated in thestorage managing unit 107 are arranged in the ascending order of theirspeculation scores Ps is created by the speculative recording managingunit 112. A piece of program data which is placed high in rank in thelist can be regarded as may be erased preferentially to other pieces ofprogram data if necessary. In this sense, it may be said that thespeculative recording managing unit 112 creates apotentially-to-be-erased program data list at the present step.

In the present embodiment, this potentially-to-be-erased program datalist is utilized, in the case where there is not a storage areasufficient for the speculative recording of a program in thepreprogrammed recording unit 109, to secure a storage area necessary fora speculative recording which is to be performed, by erasing a piece(s)of program data already stored in the order of priority which isprescribed by a predetermined condition. To achieve this purpose, at thepresent step, the number of programs included in thepotentially-to-be-erased program data list is decided so that the totalsize of the program data thereof exceeds by a predetermined amount thesize of the area which the data of the speculatively-to-be-recordedprogram whose record starting time Tr has been reached will cover in thestorage managing unit 107. The predetermined amount is an arbitraryvalue to be decided considering the operational quality of the storagemanaging unit 107 and the like, to record the whole of the program forwhich the preprogramming was made. The speculation scores Ps of theprograms which were utilized when the potentially-to-be-erased programdata list was created may be stored as respective program attributes inthe storage managing unit 107, or alternatively, the speculativerecording managing unit 112 may manage them in a lump in connection withthe speculatively-recorded programs which have already been accumulatedas well.

At step S508, it is determined by the speculative recording managingunit 112 whether the speculation scores Ps of all the program dataincluded in the potentially-to-be-erased program data list are lowerthan the speculation score Ps of the program to be speculativelyrecorded. Note that, as has already been described above, the totalamount of the program data included in the potentially-to-be-erasedprogram data list corresponds to a capacity necessary for storing thedata of the program which is to be speculatively recorded. If thedetermination of Yes is made, the process proceeds to the next stepS509.

At step S509, all the program data included in thepotentially-to-be-erased program data list is erased by the speculativerecording managing unit 112. As a result, a vacant area which enablesthe program to be speculatively recorded to be stored is produced. Then,the process proceeds to the next step S510.

At step S510, a new recording file is created in the storage managingunit 107. This file is set in a temporarily-stored state for thespeculatively-to-be-recorded data. Then, the process proceeds to thenext step S505.

At step S505, the recording of the program whose record starting time Trhas been reached is caused to begin by the preprogrammed recording unit109. Then, the process is finished.

Note that, in the case where it is determined that a speculativerecording cannot be performed because of the condition of the resources,the determination of No is made at step S506 described above, theprocesses of steps S507, S508, S509, S510, and S505 described above areskipped, and the present routine is finished. This is based on the ideathat a function which is activated by an operation based on an explicitrequest of the user's such as a real-time broadcast viewing or anordinary preprogrammed recording should not be prevented by aspeculative recording by the receiving device 1200, which is not basedon an explicit intention of the user. Note that it is also based on thesame idea that a speculative recording which is being performed isdiscontinued at step S504 if the determination of Yes is made at stepS503.

Note that, in the present embodiment, on the condition that thespeculation scores Psd of all the programs included in thepotentially-to-be-erased program data list are lower than thespeculation score Psr of the program data to be speculatively recordedat step S508, all of the potentially-to-be-erased program data is erasedto secure the storage area for the speculatively-to-be-recorded data.However, of the potentially-to-be-erased program data, only a piece(s)thereof whose speculation score(s) Psr is lower than the speculationscore Psd of the program data to be speculatively recorded may be erasedto record only part of the program to be speculatively recorded, as longas possible.

Note that, instead of securing a vacant area which enables the whole ofthe speculative recording to be stored (S509) before starting aspeculative recording (S505), it is easy to devise a structure so thatevery time an area in the storage managing unit 107 runs short, aprogram whose speculation score Psd is the lowest of the programsincluded in the potentially-to-be-erased program data list is erased oneafter another. In this case, even in an emergency such as when aspeculative recording is discontinued for some cause, of the programdata already stored in the storage managing unit 107, only the partthereof which corresponds to the minimum area which has been requireduntil the speculative recording is discontinued is erased. As a result,in an emergency of the discontinuance of a speculative recording theexisting program data which has not been required to be erased continuesto be stored, so that as large an amount of speculatively-recordedprogram data as can be stored in the storage managing unit 107 can bemaintained. Moreover, in the case where a storage area sufficient for aspeculative recording has been secured in the storage managing unit 107,the processes of steps S507, S508, and S510 described above may beomitted. Note that as examples of such an emergency, a power failure, anabrupt operation of viewing or recording by a user, and the like areconceivable.

As described above, in the present embodiment, a program which a userwould desire to record is automatically recorded as far as the operationof the receiving device 1200 a is not disturbed. A file of a recordedprogram is in a temporarily-stored state, so that at the followingspeculative recording it might be replaced by another piece of programdata which the user would desire more (that is, whose speculation scorePs is higher) if appropriate, within the limitation of capacity. In thismanner, the “speculative recording,” a function of the receiving deviceautomatically recording a program which a user would desire to record,is realized. This makes it possible to record a desired program at ahigh probability without the user performing a specific operation ofpreprogrammed recording.

Second Embodiment

In the present embodiment, a function of permanently storing programdata which has been speculatively recorded, based on an instruction by auser, is added to the receiving device 1200 a according to the firstembodiment. Ordinary program data which has been speculatively recordedin an ordinary manner may possibly be erased automatically because of aspeculative recording to be performed next time or later, but apermanent storage according to the present embodiment refers to beingpreserved so as not to be erased by another speculative recording.

A receiving device 1200 b according to the present embodiment has thebasically same structure as that of the receiving device 1200 aillustrated in FIG. 1, but a function of permanently storingspeculatively-recorded program data is newly added. Therefore, while thedescription of the structure of the receiving device 1200 b according tothe present embodiment is omitted for avoiding redundancy, onlyconcerning the function of permanently storing speculatively-recordeddata, a description is made with reference to FIG. 5.

In FIG. 5, a routine for permanently storing speculatively-recorded datacarried out by the receiving device 1200 b according to the presentembodiment is illustrated in detail. After a speculative recording whichwas started at step S505 described above is finished, the presentroutine begins.

First, at step S601, an accumulated contents check screen as illustratedin FIG. 17 is displayed on the display unit 104. It becomes possible forthe user to select a piece of program data displayed on the accumulatedcontents check screen which is displayed on the display unit 104, byoperating the input unit 105. Then, the process proceeds to the nextstep S602.

At step 8602, it is determined based on an operation signal So whetherthe user has selected any piece of the program data accumulated in thestorage managing unit 107. At the time when the user has selected apiece of program data the determination of Yes is made, and the processproceeds to the next step S603.

At step S603, it is determined whether the piece of program dataselected at step S602 is in a permanently-stored state or not. If thepiece of program data is already in a permanently-stored state, theprocess proceeds to step S605. In the other case, that is, if the pieceof program data is in a temporarily-stored state, the process proceedsto step S604.

At step S604, the program selected at step S602 is converted from thecurrent temporarily-stored state into a permanently-stored state. Then,the present routine is finished.

At step S605, the program selected at step S602 is converted from thecurrent permanently-stored state into a temporarily-stored state. Then,the present routine is finished.

As shown above, in the present embodiment, not onlyspeculatively-recorded program data is stored permanently, but alsospeculatively-recorded program data designated by the user is convertedso that it can be treated in the same manner as a program for which anordinary preprogrammed recording was performed. By thus changing apermanently-stored state of a speculative recording to the same state asan ordinary preprogrammed recording, it becomes unnecessary to provide aspecific state. As a result, it is unnecessary to complicate a screendisplay or a GUI (Graphic User Interface). In addition, since programdata which has once got into a permanently-stored state can be treatedwithout attention being paid in the same manner as program data forwhich ordinary preprogrammed recording was performed, the conveniencefor the user is improved. As shown above, the function which makes itpossible to permanently store program data for which speculativerecording was performed by an operation of the user's is realized.

Third Embodiment

In the present embodiment, a chasing function is added to the receivingdevice 1200 a according to the above-described first embodiment. In thereceiving device 1200 c according to the present embodiment, programdata (file) which was recorded involving a chase viewing is stored in atemporarily-stored state even after the chase viewing is finished.Moreover, even if a chasing playback is terminated before the programbroadcast is completed, program data in which the whole of the program,from the beginning to the end thereof, is recorded is stored. As aresult, in the case where although a program was displayed on the screendisplay it was not actually viewed by the user, or the like, it ispossible to view it anew. Further, in the case where although he or shedid not initially intend to record it he or she comes to desire torecord and store it after actually viewing it, it becomes possible in amoment to permanently store the whole of the program by converting itinto a permanently-stored state.

A receiving device 1200 c according to the present embodiment has thebasically same structure as that of the receiving device 1200 aillustrated in FIG. 1, but a chase recording function in which permanentstoring is enabled is added newly. Therefore, while the description ofthe structure of the receiving device 1200 c according to the presentembodiment is omitted for avoiding redundancy, only concerning the chaserecording function in which permanent storing is enabled, a descriptionis made with reference to FIG. 6.

In FIG. 6, a routine for a chase recording in which permanent storing isenabled which is carried out by the receiving device 1200 c according tothe present embodiment is illustrated in detail. The chase recordingroutine according to the present embodiment corresponds to the chasingplayback routine in the conventional technology, which has already beendescribed with reference to FIG. 19, except that steps S1401 and S1402are replaced by steps S709 and S710 respectively and, in addition, ifthe determination of No is made at step S708, the process returns tostep S706. Because the steps from step S701 up to step S707 or step S708are similar to those already described with reference to FIG. 19, adescription is made concerning the processes at step S707 andthereafter, and step S708 and thereafter.

At step S707, in accordance with the detection of a chase finishinginstruction from the user at step S706, the chasing playback of programdata which was started at step S705 is terminated. Then, the processproceeds to the step S709.

At step S708, in a situation where no chase (recording) processterminating instruction from the user has been detected, it isdetermined whether the playback of a chase-recorded program which wasstarted at step S704 has been completed or not. If the playback has notbeen completed, the determination of No is made and the process returnsto step S706 described above. Meanwhile if the playback has beencompleted, the determination of Yes is made and the process proceeds tostep S709.

At step S709, it is determined whether the chase recording started atstep S703 has already been completed or not. After the chasing playbackis forcibly terminated based on an instruction from the user (step S707)or after it is ended spontaneously (step S708), the determination of Yesis made and the process proceeds to the next step S710.

At step S710, the storage state of the chase-recorded program data(file) whose playback has been ended is converted into atemporarily-stored state. Note that in a conventional technologyillustrated in FIG. 19, a chase recording is terminated as well,forcibly, at step S1401 which follows step S707. However, in the presentembodiment, since a chase recording is continued until the programfinishes according to the processes at step S709 and step S710, thewhole of the program can be viewed anew in the future.

Note that although not specified in FIG. 6, in the present embodiment achase recording is finished simultaneously with the end of a programbroadcasting (delivery). This is because an initial setting is made atthe commencement of the chase recording so that the recording isterminated at the end of the program.

Even after a recording is completed, the erasure of the file is notconducted as at step S1402 in the conventional technology, and the fileis stored in the storage managing unit 107 after being converted into atemporarily-stored state at step S710. Moreover, a file preserved in atemporarily-stored state, as was described with reference to FIG. 5, canbe converted into a permanently-stored state by an operation of theuser's so that it is not automatically erased at a processing ofspeculative recording to be performed later.

Note that instead of starting a chase recording at step S702 inaccordance with an operation of the pause button by-the user which isdetected at step S701, recording for a chase viewing may be performedall the time. In this case, since a chase recording is performed fromthe beginning of a program without any operation being conducted, theprogram is always automatically preserved from the beginning to the endin a temporarily-stored state.

As described above, in the present embodiment, program data is notstored in a file of a form specialized for chase recording as in thecase of a conventional chase viewing, but it is stored in a file of thesame form as is used in both the recording modes, that is, ordinaryrecording and speculative recording. A file of a program which wasrecorded involving a chase viewing is stored in a temporarily-storedstate after the chase viewing is finished. Consequently, in the casewhere although the program was displayed on the display screen it wasnot actually viewed by the user, the user can view the program later.Further, in the case where although he or she did not initially intendto record it he or she comes to desire to record and store it afteractually viewing it, it becomes possible in a moment to permanentlystore the whole of the program by converting it into apermanently-stored state.

Fourth Embodiment

In the present embodiment, a function of utilizing a file created by aspeculative recording as a file for a chase viewing is added to theabove-described receiving device 1200 a. This makes it possible to do achase viewing from the beginning of a program even in the case where theprogram has not been viewed from the beginning. Further, because aprogram of which a speculative recording is performed is expected to beviewed in real time with a high probability, the probability that thechase viewing can be done from the beginning of the program is alsohigh.

A receiving device 1200 d according to the present embodiment has thebasically same structure as that of the receiving device 1200 aillustrated in FIG. 1, but a function of utilizing a file created by aspeculative recording as a file for a chase viewing is added newly.Therefore, while the description of the structure of the receivingdevice 1200 d according to the present embodiment is omitted foravoiding redundancy, only concerning the function of utilizing a filecreated by a speculative recording as a file for a chase viewing, adescription is made with reference to FIG. 7.

In FIG. 7, a routine for utilizing a file created by a speculativerecording as a file for a chase viewing which is carried out by thereceiving device 1200 d according to the present embodiment isillustrated in detail. The chase recording routine utilizingspeculatively-recorded program data according to the present embodimentcorresponds to the chasing playback routine according to the thirdembodiment, which was described with reference to FIG. 6, except thatsteps S801 and S802 are newly added between step S701 and step S702, andstep S803 is newly provided between this step S802 and step S704.

In the receiving device 1200 d structured as such, as in the thirdembodiment, first at step S701, a chase recording process utilizingspeculatively-recorded program data (file) is caused to begin by theuser operating the pause button of the input unit 105. Then, the processproceeds to newly-provided step S801.

At step S801, it is determined whether the part extending up to thepoint which a program which is being viewed at the moment has reachedhas already been recorded by a speculative recording. Specifically,recording data of the program which is being viewed is searched for, andthen it is determined based on the presence of the recording data (file)whether the recording has been performed or not. Note that, although thelimitation to a speculatively-recorded program is assumed here, aprogram identical in content which was ordinarily recorded in the pastmay be utilized. In other words, in the case where an identical programwas broadcast in the past and has already been recorded by the receivingdevice 1200 d and information indicating that the program which is beingviewed at the moment is the same as the recorded program is indicated byinformation in an electronic program list or the like, the recordedprogram is treated as a search result: that is, a case where the programwhich is being viewed at the moment is a rebroadcast of a program, whichhas already been recorded, or the like. Then, the process proceeds tothe next step S802.

At step S802, if the result of a search at step S801 indicates thatrecorded program data does not exist, the determination of No is madeand the process proceeds through steps S702 and S703 described above tostep S704. Meanwhile, if recorded program data exists, the determinationof Yes is made and the process proceeds to newly-provided step S803.

At step S803, a recording file found as a result of the search at stepS801 is converted into a chasing state. And the file in a chasing stateis utilized as a chase recording file. In the case where a program ofwhich a chase viewing is to be performed has already been speculativelyrecorded as this, it becomes possible by treating the file forspeculative recording as a file for chase recording that a chasing isperformed from the beginning of the program. Moreover, since programsappropriate for the user are selected in speculative recording, achasing from the beginning can often be performed. The process skipssteps S702 and S703 described above and proceeds to step S704.

As described above, in the present embodiment, a function of utilizing afile created by a speculative recording as a file for a chase viewing isrealized. Consequently, even in the case where a program has not beenviewed from the beginning, it becomes possible to perform a chaseviewing from the beginning of the program. Further, because a program ofwhich a speculative recording is performed is expected to be viewed inreal time with a high probability, the probability that a chase viewingthereof can be done from the beginning of the program is high.

Fifth Embodiment

In the fifth embodiment, to the above-described receiving device 1200 ais added a function which, in the situation where it is connected as alocal receiving device to the Internet at all times, makes it possibleto process a program file recorded in a different, remotely-locatedreceiving device 1200 or a server which emulates the operations of areceiving device 1200 in the same manner as a program data file whichthe local receiving device accumulates. This makes it possible todisplay recording files in a remotely-located server as a list ofaccumulated files on the user's local receiving device 1200 e and copy afile from a receiving device 1200 er at a distance or a dedicatedstreaming server 912 into the local receiving deice 1200 e and store ittherein in the same manner as a speculatively-recorded one in the localreceiving device 1200 e is converted into a permanently-stored state.

In FIG. 8, a structure of the receiving device 1200 e according to thepresent embodiment is illustrated. In the receiving device 1200 e, acommunication unit 901 is added to the receiving device 1200 a accordingto the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1. Moreover, the receivingdevice 1200 e is connected via a network 920 to a different receivingdevice 1200 er and a dedicated streaming server 912 which emulates theoperations of the receiving device 1200 e. Needless to say, thereceiving device 1200 er may be structured in the same manner as thereceiving device 1200 e.

The communication unit 901, which performs encoding/decoding appropriatefor the information transmission in the network 920, connects thereceiving device 1200 e with the network 920 and, in addition, enablescommunication. The communication unit 901 may be an analog modem, abroad-band router, a cable modem, an interface with a LAN (Local AreaNetwork), or the like.

A network 920 is an information transmission network which connects aplurality of receiving devices or dedicated streaming servers with oneanother. A network 920 may be a WAN (Wide Area Network) such as theInternet, a LAN, which is a network within a single building, or, in thecase where the connections between terminals are peer-to-peer directconnections, a public switched telephone network.

The dedicated streaming server 912 appears to work in a similar mannerto the different receiving device 1200 er when observed over the network920, but it is capable of simultaneously communicating with a pluralityof receiving devices 1200 e or 1200 er and performing a process.

In FIG. 9, a routine for permanently storing remote data which iscarried out by the receiving device 1200 e according to the presentembodiment is illustrated in detail. The present routine for permanentlystoring remote data corresponds to the permanently storing routineaccording to the second embodiment, which has already been describedwith reference to FIG. 5, except that step S601 is replaced by stepsS1001 and S1002 and that step S1003 and step S1004 are newly addedbetween step S603 and step S605.

Instead of the contents of recorded programs accumulated in the localreceiving device 1200 b being displayed at step S601 described above, inthe present embodiment, throughout step S1001 and step S1002 describedbelow, the contents of recorded programs accumulated in a remotereceiving device 1200 er or a dedicated streaming server 912 aredisplayed.

Specifically, at step S1001, the receiving device 1200 e is connectedvia a network 920 to a different receiving device 1200 e or a dedicatedstreaming server 912 by means of the communication unit 901. A file listof recorded products accumulated in such a connected, remotely-locateddevice is received. Then, the process proceeds to the next step S1002.

At step S1002, the recorded products accumulated in a remote receivingdevices 1200 er or a dedicated streaming server 912 which were receivedat step S1001 and accumulated contents in the local receiving device1200 e are merged into one accumulated program list. The accumulatedprogram list obtained after mergence is displayed on the display unit104 of the local receiving device 1200 e. Then, the process proceedsthrough step S601 described above to step S603 described above.

At step S603, if a program data file which was determined to be selectedat step S602 is in a permanently-stored state, the determination of Yesis made and then the process proceeds to step S604 described above andthereafter the present routine is finished. Meanwhile, the program datafile which was determined to be selected at step S602 is not in apermanently-stored state, the determination of No is made and then theprocess proceeds to step S1003.

At step S1003, if the selected program data file is in the localreceiving device 1200 e, the determination of No is made and then theprocess proceeds to step S605 described above and the program data fileis converted into a permanently-stored state. Meanwhile, if the selectedprogram data file is in a receiving device 1200 er at a distance or adedicated streaming server 912, the determination of Yes is made andthen the process proceeds to step S1004.

At step S1004, the selected program data file is received via thenetwork 920 from a remote receiving device 1200 er or a dedicatedstreaming server 912. Then, the process proceeds to step S605 describedabove.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in a situation where the(local) receiving device at hand is connected with the Internet at alltimes, a file of a program which was recorded in a different,remotely-located receiving device or a server which emulates theoperations of a receiving device can be treated in the same manner as afile of a program accumulated in the local receiving device. A recordingfile in a remotely-located server is displayed in a list of filesaccumulated by the local receiving device, and the file is moved from adistance to be local and stored there in the same manner as aspeculatively-recorded one which is local is converted into apermanently-stored state.

Sixth Embodiment

In the present embodiment, the receiving device 1200 a according to thefirst embodiment described above is further provided, while beingconnected to a different, remotely-located receiving device or adedicated streaming server over a network which are connected over anetwork as is the receiving device 1200 e according to the fifthembodiment described above, with a function of treating a program datafile accumulated in such a remote device in the same manner as a programdata file accumulated in the local receiving device 1200 e.

In a receiving device 1200 f (not shown) according to the presentembodiment, a chase viewing is performed utilizing a program data filein a remote receiving device 1200 fr. A chase recording is performedalso in the local receiving device 1200 f, but concerning the part of aprogram before a chase recording is started, a file in a remotereceiving device 1200 fr or a dedicated streaming server 912 f(corresponding to the streaming server 912) is utilized. This enables achasing playback to be performed from the beginning of the program evenin the case where a chase recording has not been performed from thebeginning of the program by the local receiving device 1200 f.

The receiving device 1200 f according to the present embodiment has thebasically same structure as that of the receiving device 1200 eillustrated in FIG. 8, but a function of treating a file in a remotereceiving device 1200 fr or a dedicated streaming server 912 r in thesame manner as a file in the receiving device 1200 f is added newly.Moreover, the receiving device 1200 fr and the dedicated streamingserver 912 f have the same structures as respectively the receivingdevice 1200 er illustrated in FIG. 8 and the dedicated streaming server912. Therefore, while the description of the structure of the receivingdevice 1200 f according to the present embodiment is omitted foravoiding redundancy, only concerning the function of treating aremotely-located file, the description is made with reference to FIG. 10and FIG. 11.

In FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, a routine for a chasing process utilizing aremote program data file which is carried out by the receiving device1200 f according to the present embodiment is illustrated in detail. Thechasing process routine utilizing a remote data file according to thepresent embodiment corresponds to the chasing playback routine accordingto the third embodiment, which has already been described with referenceto FIG. 6, except that steps S1101, S1102, and S1103 are newly addedbetween step S701 and step S702; step S1104 is added between steps S703and S704; step S705 is replaced by new steps S1105, S1106, S1107, andS1108; and step S708 is replaced by new step S109. In the receivingdevice 1200 f as structured like this, the present routine is begun byan operation of the pause button by the user as described above, at stepS701, and then the process proceeds to the next step S1101.

At step S1101, concerning a program which is being viewed at the momentwith the receiving device 1200 f, recording data corresponding to thepart up to the present moment is searched for within the remotereceiving device 1200 fr or the dedicated streaming server 912 f. Then,the process proceeds to the next step S1102.

At step S1102, if corresponding recording data exists in the remotereceiving device 1200 fr or the dedicated streaming server 912 f, thedetermination of Yes is made and then the process proceeds to the nextstep S1103.

At step S1103, a playback of the recording data which exists in theremote receiving device 1200 fr or the dedicated streaming server 912 fis prepared. Specifically, a preparation is made in the remote receivingdevice 1200 fr or the dedicated streaming server 912 f so that whenevera request is made by the receiving device 1200 f the playback of therecording data found as a result of search at step S1101 can be done,and, in addition, a preparation is made also in the local receivingdevice 1200 f so that a sufficient receiving bandwidth can be secured inthe communication unit 901. Then, the process proceeds throughabove-described steps S702 and S703 to new step S1104.

Meanwhile, if the determination of No is made at step S1102, that is, ifit is determined that no corresponding recording data exists in theremote receiving device 1200 fr or the dedicated streaming server 912 f,the process skips above-described step S1103 and proceeds through stepsS702 and S703 to new step S1104.

At step S1104, the present time TC is memorized as a local recordstarting time TrL. A local record starting time TrL refers to thestarting time Tr of a chase recording in the local receiving device 1200f, which was started at step S703. Then, the process proceeds throughabove-described step S704 to new step S1105.

At step S1105, if it was determined at above-described step S1102 thatrecording data exists in the remote receiving device 1200 fr or thededicated streaming server 912 f, the process proceeds to the next stepS1106. Meanwhile, if it was determined at above-described step S1102that recording data does not exist in the remote receiving device 1200fr or the dedicated streaming server 912 f, the process skips step S1106and proceeds to new step S1107.

At step S1106, with the program recording data accumulated in the remotereceiving device 1200 fr or the dedicated streaming server 912 f, theplayback from the beginning of the program up to the point correspondingto the local record starting time TrL is started. Specifically, thecommunication unit 901 causes the different receiving device 120 fr orthe dedicated streaming server 912 f via the network 920 to start aplayback, which was made ready at step S1103. Then the local receivingdevice 1200 receives program data of which a playback has been startedat the remote side with the communication unit 901, and the data istransmitted to the program decoder 102 and finally is presented to thedisplay unit 104. Then, the process proceeds to the next step S1107.

At step S1107, it is determined whether the playback of the recordingdata at the remote side has been completed or not. If the determinationof Yes is made, the process proceeds to next step S1108. Meanwhile, ifthe determination of No is made, the process proceeds to above-describedstep S706. Note that in the case where it was determined at step S1102that recording file does not exist at a distance, the determination ofNo is always made at the present step and then the process proceeds tostep S706.

At step S1108, the playback of a new recording file is started from thebeginning. Then, the process proceeds to step S706. When the playback ofthe remote recording data has reached the point corresponding to thelocal record starting time TrL, by starting to play back the recordingfile recorded in the local receiving device 1200 f from the pointcorresponding to the same time, the chasing playback for the followingparts of the program is performed without interruption.

At step S706, if an operation of the chase finishing button by the useris detected, the process proceeds to step S1109.

At step s1109, the one which is being performed of the playback of theprogram recording data file of the remote side and the playback of theprogram recording data file of the local side is forcibly terminated.Then, the process proceeds to above-described step S709 and step S710and thereafter the present routine is finished.

Meanwhile, at step S706, if no operation of the chase finishing buttonby the user is detected, the process proceeds to above-described stepS708. Then, if the finishing of the playback of the program is notdetected at step S708, the process returns to above-described step S1107and the processes at steps S1107, S1108, S706, S1109, or S708 arerepeated. If the determination of Yes is made at step S708, the processproceeds to steps S709 and S710 and then the present routine isfinished.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in a situation where the(local) receiving device at hand is connected with the Internet at alltimes, a program file which has been recorded in a different,remotely-located receiving device or a server which emulates theoperations of a receiving device is treated in the same manner as aprogram file accumulated by the local receiving device. In addition, achase viewing is performed utilizing a remotely-located file. A chaserecording is performed in a local receiving device as well, butconcerning the part of a program before a chase recording is started, aremotely-located file is utilized. This enables a chasing playback to beperformed from the beginning of the program even in the case where achase recording has not been performed from the beginning of the programat the local side.

Seventh Embodiment

In the seventh embodiment, a function of the above-described receivingdevice 1200 e and different, remotely-located receiving device 1200 ervicariously performing a speculative recording for each other is added.Note that, in the present embodiment, a local receiving device and aremote receiving device is identified as respectively a receiving device1200 g and a receiving device 1200 gr. In performing a speculativerecording, if there is not a sufficient available capacity in thespeculative recording managing unit of the receiving device 1200 g, thereceiving device 1200 g requests a remote receiving device 1200 gr toperform a vicarious recording. Then, the receiving device 1200 grdetermines, based on its own available capacity and the degree ofimportance of the speculative recording, whether to carry out thevicarious recording requested from the receiving device 1200.

In FIG. 12, a structure of the receiving device 1200 g according to thepresent embodiment is illustrated. The receiving device 1200 g is suchthat a preprogramming list managing unit 113 is added to the receivingdevice 1200 e according to the fifth embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8.The receiving device 1200 g is connected via the network 920 to adifferent receiving device 1200 gr or a dedicated streaming server 912 g(not shown) which emulates the operations of the receiving device 1200g.

With reference to FIG. 13, preprogrammed recording request informationItr which the receiving device 1200 g outputs to a remote receivingdevice 1200 gr to request a vicarious recording is briefly described.Preprogrammed recording request information Itr includes preprogrammedrecording request information IR, which specifies the subject of arequest of preprogrammed recording with respect to each program of whicha preprogrammed recording is requested. In the present example, twopieces of preprogrammed recording request information IR1 and IR2 havebeen created as preprogrammed recording request information Itr.

Each piece of preprogrammed recording request information IR includes apreprogrammed recording request identifier Rr, a request sourceidentifier Isr, a preprogrammed recording program identifier Ip, and aspeculation score Ps.

A preprogrammed recording request identifier Rr refers to informationwhich distinguishes each piece of preprogrammed recording requestinformation IR, and, in the present example, IR1 and IR2 correspondthereto. Note that in the case where n, which may be any natural number,pieces of preprogrammed recording request information IR1 to Irn areincluded in preprogrammed recording request information IR, IR1 to IRncorrespond to preprogrammed recording request identifiers Rr.

A request source identifier Isr refers to information which identifies alocal receiving device 1200 g, and in the present example, 1200 gcorresponds thereto.

A preprogrammed recording program identifier Ip includes thebroadcasting time and broadcast channel of a program of which arecording is requested.

A speculation score Ps refers to a speculation score Ps of a program ofwhich a recording is requested.

Note that in order to distinguish preprogrammed recording requestidentifiers Rr, request source identifiers Isr, preprogrammed recordingprogram identifiers Ip, and speculation scores Ps of respective piecesof preprogrammed recording request information IR, (n) is added behindeach symbol. Specifically, in the present example, the preprogrammedrecording request identifier Rr(1) of the preprogrammed recordingrequest information IR1 is “IR1,” the request source identifier Isr(l)thereof is “1200 g,” the preprogrammed recording program identifierIp(1) thereof is “May 20 9:00-9:30 1 ch,” and the speculation scorePs(1) thereof is “8.” Note that the preprogrammed recording programidentifier Ip(1) indicates a program which is broadcast between 9:00 and9:30 on May 20 on channel 1.

In the same manner, the preprogrammed recording request identifier Rr(2)of the preprogrammed recording request information IR2 is “IR2,” therequest source identifier Isr(2) thereof is“1200 g,” the preprogrammedrecording program identifier Ip(2) thereof is “May 21 20:00-20:45 5 ch,”and the speculation score Ps(2) thereof is “9.” Note that the requestsource identifiers Isr have the same value in both.

With reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 14, a preprogrammedrecording request and request acception process between the receivingdevice 1200 g and a receiving device 1200 gr is described in detail.Note that in the present example a description is made taking a casewhere a preprogrammed recording request is made from the receivingdevice 1200 g to a receiving device 1200 gr for example.

First, a preprogrammed recording request process is begun at the timewhen the local receiving device 1200 g outputs preprogrammed recordingrequest information IR as described above via the Internet or the liketo all remote receiving devices 1200 gr with which it is capable ofcommunicating.

First, at step S1300, the receiving device 1200 g creates preprogrammedrecording request information IR which requests the vicarious executionof the preprogrammed recording of a program of which a preprogrammedrecording cannot be performed owing to the limitation of its ownresources, out of the programs of which speculative recordings are to beperformed, and transmits it to one receiving device 1200 gr. Then, theprocess proceeds to the next step S1301.

At step S1301, the receiving device 1200 gr receives preprogrammedrecording request information IR outputted from the receiving device1200 g. Hereafter, the subject of the process is changed from thereceiving device 1200 g to a receiving device 1200 gr. In this sense, areceiving device 1200 gr is identified as local and the receiving device1200 g as remote in the following description unless specifiedotherwise. Moreover, to make the subject of the process clear, (1200 g)or (1200 gr) is added behind each parameter when necessary, but wherespace is limited as in the drawings they are written in such asimplified manner as (g) or (gr). Specifically, at the present step, thereceiving device 1200 gr receives the preprogrammed recording requestinformation IR (1200 g) outputted from the receiving device 1200 g.Then, the process proceeds to the next step S1302.

At step S1302, in a remote receiving device 1200 g, a program listshowing programs of which recordings have already been preprogrammed isextracted. Then, the process proceeds to the next step S1303.

At step S1303, it is determined whether a program which a preprogrammedrecording program identifier Ip(1200 g) indicates is included in theprogram list extracted at step S1302, that is, whether the recordingthereof has been already preprogrammed in the local receiving device1200 gr. If it is preprogrammed, since a preprogrammed recording isperformed in the receiving device 1200 gr irrespective of a request fromthe remote receiving device 1200 g, that the preprogramming has beensuccessfully performed is notified back to the receiving device 1200 gas a result of the determination as to preprogramming. Then, the processis finished. Meanwhile, if it is not preprogrammed, the determination ofNo is made and the process proceeds to the next step S1305.

At step S1305, one of the programs extracted at step S1302 is selected.Then, the process proceeds to the next step S1306.

At step S1306, it is determined whether all of the programs extracted atstep S1302 have been selected or not. If the determination of No ismade, the process proceeds to the next step S1307. Meanwhile, if thedetermination of Yes is made, the process proceeds to step S1311 to bedescribed later.

At step S1307, it is determined whether a program of which a recordingis requested from a distance which was selected at step S1305 conflictswith any preprogrammed recording at the local side. Specifically, it isdetermined whether the broadcast time zone of one program correspondingto a preprogrammed recording program identifier Ip(1200 g) overlaps thebroadcast time zone of any program to be speculatively recorded in thereceiving device 1200 gr. If no conflict is detected, the determinationof No is made and then the process returns to step S1305 describedabove. Meanwhile, a conflict is detected, the determination of Yes ismade and then the process proceeds to the next step S1308.

At step S1308, it is determined in the local receiving device 1200 grwhether a requested program speculation grading score EPs(1200 g), whichis produced by multiplying the speculation score Ps (1200 g) which isincluded in the preprogrammed recording request information IR by agrading coefficient Ek having a specific value, is higher than thespeculation score Ps(1200 gr) of a conflicting program of which aspeculative recording is preprogrammed. This grading coefficient Ek isprovided for avoiding the determination as to acceptance which is simplybased on the values of speculation scores Ps, by giving a differentweight to the expected value of a recording in the request sourceindicated by a speculation score Ps (1200 g) than to a speculation scorePs(1200 gr), which is the expected value of local recording. In otherwords, at the present step, it is determined whether a preprogrammedrecording of a program of which a preprogrammed recording has beenrequested should be accepted or not. Note that a grading coefficient Ekmay vary for each request source (1200 g) at a distance or may varyaccording to a broadcast time zone, a genre of a program, or a storagecapacity of a local receiving device (1200 g). If the determination ofNo is made, the process proceeds to the next step S1309. Meanwhile, ifthe determination of Yes is made, the process proceeds to step S1310.

At step S1309, without a requested preprogramming concerning a programbeing accepted, the failure of preprogramming is notified back to thereceiving device 1200 g as a result of the determination as topreprogramming.

At step S1310, from the program list extracted at step S1302, thepreprogramming for a program for which the determination of Yes is madeat step S1308 is cancelled. Then, the process proceeds to the next stepS1311.

At step S1311, speculative recordings of programs for which thedetermination of Yes was made at step S1303 and step S1308 whileproceeding through steps S1305 to S1310 described above and of programsof which the erasure was not made at step S1310 are decided to beperformed. Then, the process proceeds to the next step S1312.

At step S1312, concerning a program for which the determination of Yeswas made at step S1308, the success of preprogramming is notified backto the receiving device 1200 g. Then, the process is completed.

Note that the receiving device 1200 g, based on a preprogrammingnotification result notified back from each receiving device 1200 gr,recognizes, with respect to each program, the receiving device 1200 grwhich vicariously performs a speculative recording preprogramming andcreates vicarious speculative recording preprogramming information.

Note that by repeating steps S1301 to S1312 described above for eachreceiving device 1200 gr to which preprogrammed recording requestinformation IR was transmitted at step S1300, the receiving device 1200g can diversify vicarious executions of speculative recordingpreprogramming into all receiving devices 1200 gr available. Inrequesting a vicarious execution of preprogrammed recording to adifferent receiving device 1200 gr, it is desirable to createpreprogrammed recording request information IR while excluding thepreprogrammed recording program identifier(s) Ip of a program(s) forwhich the success of preprogramming has been determined by a precedingreceiving device(s) 1200 gr.

Note that the processes of steps S1302 to S1311 described above arecarried out mainly by the preprogramming list managing unit 113.

Next, with reference to FIG. 15, the details of the above-describedprocess by the preprogramming list managing unit 113 are describedspecifically. In the present figure, a typical example of preprogramminglist managing data DA produced within the preprogramming list managingunit 113 is illustrated. Preprogramming list managing data DA includespreprogrammed recording information IIR which specifies the subject ofthe request of preprogrammed recording with respect to each program ofwhich a preprogrammed recording is to be performed. In the presentexample, five pieces of preprogrammed recording information IIR1 to IIR5are produced as preprogrammed recording information IIR.

Each piece of preprogrammed recording information IIR includes apreprogrammed recording identifier IRr, a preprogrammed recordingprogram identifier Ip, a recording mode identifier Fr, a requestedprogram speculation grading score EPs, a request source identifier Isr,and a request destination identifier Ise. The preprogrammed recordingprogram identifier Ip, the requested program speculation grading scoreEPs, and the request source identifier Isr are the same as those of theinformation included in the above-described preprogrammed recordingrequest information IR.

A preprogrammed recording identifier IRr is information specifying thecontent of the preprogrammed recording of each program, managed by thepreprogramming list managing unit 113. In the present example, it isassumed that preprogrammed recordings of five programs are to bemanaged.

A recording mode identifier Fr is information which specifies the modeof preprogrammed recording. In the present example, either of the twokinds, that is, speculative recording preprogramming and preprogrammedrecording request, is set.

A request destination identifier Ise is information which specifies thedestination, that is, a different receiving device 1200 g or a receivingdevice 1200 gr-b, to which the receiving device 1200 gr gives a requestof preprogrammed recording.

In the present example, the preprogrammed recording information IIR1specifies a recording requested from the receiving device 1200 g.Specifically, it shows that the speculation score Ps of the programwhich is set in the receiving device 1200 g as an object of aspeculative recording and which is broadcast between 8:15 and 8:30 onMay 10 on channel 1 is 3, that the grading coefficient Ek thereof is0.8, and that the requested program speculation grading score EPsthereof is 2.4.

The preprogrammed recording information IIR2 specifies a speculativerecording of the receiving device 1200 gr itself. Specifically, it showsthat the speculation score Ps of the program which is broadcast between9:00 and 10:00 on May 20 on channel 5 is 2, that the grading coefficientEk thereof is 1, and that the requested program speculation gradingscore EPs thereof is 2. The reason why the grading coefficient Ek of thepreprogrammed recording information IIR1 is 0.8 while the gradingcoefficient Ek of the preprogrammed recording information IIR2 is 1 isthat there is an intention of giving some priority to its ownpreprogrammed recording.

The preprogrammed recording information IIR3 specifies a speculativerecording requested from a different receiving device 1200 gr-b.Specifically, it shows that the speculation score Ps of the programwhich is broadcast between 9:00 and 9:30 on May 20 on channel 1 is 8,that the grading coefficient Ek thereof is 0.5, and that the requestedprogram speculation grading score EPs thereof is 4. The reason why thegrading coefficient Ek of the preprogrammed recording information IIR1is 0.8 while the grading coefficient Ek of the preprogrammed recordinginformation IIR3 is 0.5 is that there is an intention of giving priorityto a request from the receiving device 1200 g over a request from thereceiving device 1200 gr-b.

The preprogrammed recording information IIR4 specifies a speculativerecording of the receiving device 1200 gr itself. Specifically, it showsthat the speculation score Ps of the program which is broadcast between20:00 and 20:30 on May 21 on channel 7 is 6, that the gradingcoefficient Ek thereof is 1, and that the requested program speculationgrading score EPs thereof is 6.

The preprogrammed recording information IIR5 specifies a preprogrammedrecording which the receiving device 1200 gr requests to a receivingdevice 1200 gr-b at a distance. Specifically, it shows that thespeculation score Ps of the program which is broadcast between 8:00 and9:00 on May 10 on channel 7 is 6, that the grading coefficient Ekthereof is 1, and that the requested program speculation grading scoreEPs thereof is 6.

In the present example, the broadcast times of the programs of whichpreprogrammed recordings are requested by the preprogrammed recordinginformation IIR2 and the preprogrammed recording information IIR3coincide. In this case, based on that the requested program speculationgrading score EPs(IIR2) is 2 and the requested program speculationgrading score EPs (IIR3) is 4, the preprogramming list managing unit 113accepts the request of the preprogrammed recording of the preprogrammedrecording information IIR3 and, in addition, notifies the success ofpreprogramming to the receiving device 1200 gr-b. On the other hand, itrefuses the request of the preprogrammed recording of the preprogrammedrecording information IIR2 and, in addition, notifies the failure ofpreprogramming to the receiving device 1200 gr.

Note that, in the present example, the receiving device 1200 gr, whenreceiving a notice of the failure of preprogramming from the receivingdevice 1200 gr itself, erases the preprogrammed recording informationIIR2 itself.

Note that, needless to say, a similar process is carried out in thereceiving device 1200 gr-b concerning the preprogrammed recordinginformation IIR5.

As described above, in the present invention, since a recording filecreated in a preprogrammed recording, a file created in a speculativerecording, a file created in a chase recording, and a file contained ina different receiving device which is connected via a network can beequally treated with user interfaces which look the same to a user, thesophisticated function as described above can be enjoyed withoutnecessity of learning a special operation.

Moreover, the vicarious execution of a preprogrammed recording can berequested to a different receiving device via a network or the like. Andsince the receiving device to which a request is given can determinewhether or not to accept the request according to the degrees ofimportance of its own speculative recording and the requested recording,diversified recordings can be carried out complementarily.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, the present invention can be applied to a receivingdevice having a function of once accumulating a program which isbroadcast or delivered in real time via an electrical transmitting meanssuch as digital broadcasting and the Internet, thereby making itpossible to view it asynchronously to broadcast or delivery. Further, itcan be applied to a receiving device which is capable of performing achase recording and to receiving devices capable of performingdiversified accumulation between one another.

1. A speculative recording device comprising: profile extracting meansfor extracting a user profile which indicates a preference of a user inviewing programs based on an operation by the user; program listmanaging means for acquiring attributes of a program; speculationselecting means for selecting a program to be speculatively recordedbased on the user profile and the attributes of the program; storagemanaging means for accumulating program data; speculative recordingmanaging means for erasing the program data accumulated in the storagemanaging means when necessary and for recording program data selected bythe speculation selecting means; user interface controlling means forconverting a state of the program data accumulated in the storagemanaging means between a temporarily-stored state and apermanently-stored state in accordance with a request from the user,wherein the program data accumulated in the storage managing means is ineither one of the temporarily-stored state and the permanently-storedstate, and the speculative recording managing means erases, among theprogram data accumulated in the storage managing means, a piece ofprogram data in the temporarily-stored state when necessary and recordsthe program data selected by the speculation selecting means in thetemporarily-stored state; communication means for communicating with anetwork connected with at least one remotely-located program recordingdevice, wherein when the user interface controlling means performs anoperation of converting a state of a piece of program data selected bythe user from among programs accumulated by the at least oneremotely-located program recording device and the program dataaccumulated in the storage managing means into the permanently-storedstate in accordance with a request from the user while utilizing thecommunication means, if the piece of program data selected by the useris a piece of program data accumulated in one of the at least oneremotely-located recording device, the selected piece of program data istaken into the storage managing means via the communication means to beconverted into the permanently-stored state; and chasing means for,after beginning a process of accumulating a currently-broadcast programinto a file in the temporarily-stored state from a record starting timeto an end of the program, beginning to play back the file at a playbackstarting time.
 2. The speculative recording device 1, wherein: the userinterface controlling means inputs a record starting time and a playbackstarting time from the user; and when there is a program data file whichis program data accumulated in one of the at least one remotely-locatedprogram recording device and which is of a program identical to acurrently-broadcast program to be accumulated by the chasing means, thechasing means starts, by utilizing the communication means, playing backthe program data file of the identical program at the playback startingtime.
 3. The speculative recording device according to claim 2, whereinthe chasing means starts playing back the program data file of theidentical program at the playback starting time and, at a time point ofthe record starting time or later, changes the played-back file from theidentical file to a file conducted for the storage managing means.